Love Remains
by ClearLiquorAndCloudyEyed
Summary: I looked up in time to see the woman wince as she pulled a good sized chunk of the jar out of her shoulder. My eyes widened, as I held my breath. The woman pushed past Jasper, clutching her wound, and hurried off to one of the registers. It was only when I looked into Jasper's wide, black eyes, that I noticed the crimson bloodstain the woman left on his white shirt. JxB AxE
1. First Comes Goodbye

_(A/N) Okay, if any of you read this a long time ago, I've got almost the whole story written. However, as it's 2am and I have a 10 month old baby who's bound to wake up any minute waiting to crawl into Mommy's bed (as she does around this time every night) I'm not going to get to those tonight. I'd also like some feedback! I've revised and editted it a lot. I was 14 when the first version was written, so obviously it needed some attending to. At any rate, I hope you loved it originally and I hope you love it even more. I know I do. I've put a lot of time and love into this, I hope you all enjoy!_

_And a real quick disclaimer, I don't own anything! (:_

I was depressed. And he could read it on my face. I knew he had to go hunting every now and then… but it always made me sad to have to see him go.

"Bella, Love, you know I won't be gone long. What is two days, anyway? I hate to see you this upset. I love you." His velvet voice almost made things better. Key word being, _almost._

"Edward, you know exactly what it does to me when you leave. I can't stand it! And this time Alice is leaving too. What do you expect me to do? Smile and wave?" I said frantically. Edward got an evil glint in his eye. This was not a good sign. Oh he wouldn't, would he?

Before I had time to tense up, he sprang at me and we flew all the way from the dining room to the living room couch. His arms were around me like a cage, protecting me from the outside world. His face, not two inches from mine was incredibly beautiful. It was breath-taking.

I took the only chance I knew I would get before Charlie got home. I let myself plop down on the couch to where I was under him, just enough of his weight on me to pin me down. I locked my arms as tight as I could around his neck. I threw myself into the kiss. I let my hormones push my reason one to back burner of my mind. This kind of thing would get me into trouble one day if I didn't get changed soon. I liked the sound of that. Getting changed soon would change EVERYTHING up. Edward would no longer have to be careful with me; I could put as much passion as I wanted to into the kiss, without getting hurt.

I had forgotten to breath. Of course.

I fell back onto the couch with much satisfaction. It took me a minute to catch my breath and realize that Edward had scooted all the way to the other side of the couch and was pinching the brim of his nose. _'Great job, Bella!' _I scrutinized myself, _'There you go again, making things harder on everyone around you. You good for nothing…'_ But my thoughts were interrupted.

"I'm so sorry, Love. It's just so hard to be careful, when you are so tempting like that." He kept his eyes closed. "No need to worry. I'll be ok I'm a few minutes."

He still wasn't breathing. I watched him cautiously. "I'm going to go, uh, finish Charlie's dinner. He should be coming home soon." I stammered. I hadn't fooled him. I couldn't help but think about how much I hoped I was a better liar when I finally became immortal.

He kissed me behind the ear and whispered, "I'm fine, Love, I just needed a moment to refocus." I smiled but he wasn't convinced. "I'm fine, Sweetheart, I promise."

I looked into his eyes. They were sincere. I watched them slowly change back from black to the deep butterscotch I loved to see in his eyes.

"Finish Charlie's dinner." He reminded me. What had I been making? I couldn't remember. I walked over to the kitchen.

Judging by everything I had set out, I had been re-heating left over lasagna. Easy enough.

The microwave beeped at the same time I heard the cruiser pull up in the drive way. As I turned to get the plates and silverware I had stacked I noticed Edward had already set them out and was walking quickly towards me.

"I'm sorry about earlier, Love, I just wasn't paying close enough attention. Now do you understand why I must be so careful? I love you, Bella. I couldn't bare it if I ever hurt you." He brushed a lock of my hair back behind my ear.

And with that his ice cold lips touched mine; they were passionate but more cautious this time.

"Much better," I mumbled, eyes closed.

"I couldn't agree more," he sighed and let go of my waist, settling for my hand, "three, two,… Charlie." Edward greeted.

"Edward. Bella." Charlie greeted back, finally not having to fake a polite tone. "Mmmm. Lasagna, my favorite. Would you like to stay for dinner, Edward?" he asked though he already knew the answer.

"No thank you, sir, Emmett, Jasper, Carlisle, and I are getting ready for a –"

"Camping trip." Charlie interrupted, "Bells has told me all about it."

"Well, I'd better be going." Edward glanced at me. I hid my frown a moment too late.

I walked with him to his Volvo. The walk was too short. I still hadn't quite decided how I was going to convince him to stay, though he clearly needed the hunt. _'Selfish, selfish, selfish!'_ I screamed at myself in my head.

"Are you really going to be gone two whole days? Charlie's already agreed to let me 'vacation' with you. Can't you just come home early and stay with me?" I almost begged him to stay.

"I'm sorry, Love, but I do believe that Carlisle wanted to leave tonight as soon as I got home. And as far as I can tell, we're going kind of far away. I could try… but I don't want to hurt anyone's feelings. It's been a very long time since I spent time with them." He looked sad.

"I know, I'm just going to miss you so much. Time passes so slowly when you're gone." I pouted.

"As it does, for me but if it's any consolation whatsoever, I love you dearly." He grinned a little. It barely touched his eyes and I instantly felt guilty for making him feel bad.

"I love you, too. I promise." I frowned.

Then he kissed me, again like before, on the couch. Not smart. I pulled away this time. I was scared for a moment, that he might actually kill me.

"Good thing you are the responsible one." He muttered something under his breath too low for me to hear. He took my hand and kissed it quickly, then revved the engine and sped away.

As soon as I got back in the house, Charlie was already through with his dinner. I cleared the table and filled the left half of the sink with warm soapy water. I dumped Charlie's soiled plate and silverware in the water and let them soak.

While waiting on the grease from the lasagna to loosen from the plates, I squirted an off-brand table cleaner on the table and wiped it down. I threw the dirty dish rag in the wash, and walked back to the sink. I reached my hand into the water and grabbed all the dishes and set them in the other half of the sink. I rinsed them quickly and set them in the drying rack.

When I was done with all the cleaning, I walked quickly up to my room. I was eager to see if Edward was going to actually show up to surprise me.

I felt my face fall when I saw that my room was empty. I rushed to my computer to see if there was a note. Nothing. I frowned.

I decided to get my mind off things. I had plenty homework to catch up on. In fact, I had a major essay due in history. I could get a head start on that. I grabbed my laptop case and hopped onto the bed. I started it up and opened Google. I reached into to side pocket looking for my memory stick. It wasn't there. Then I realized where I'd left it. At Edward's house, in Alice's laptop, where I last used it. I sighed.

I ran down stairs. I felt Charlie's eyes on me the whole time. So, I rushed to get my jacket on and when I was finished I ran into the living room, almost tripping on where the carpet starts and the tile stops.

"Whattcha so rushed for?" Charlie asked.

"I've got a major history paper due on the Monday we get back and I wanted to get an early start on it. But, I left my memory stick in Alice's laptop so I need to go get it." I said, shrugging.

"You shouldn't worry about all that school work you worry about, Bells, it's Spring break for goodness sake. Take a breather." He ignored my nonchalance.

"I'll take a breather when my paper is good and done." I said, walking from the living room to the front door, with a smile.

"Be careful, Bells." Charlie called after me.

I sprinted as fast as my rain boots would let me go. I jumped into my truck, practically, and "sped" off.

When I got to the Cullens' driveway, I heard some loud music playing that I'd never heard before. All the cars were still there, of course. Maybe Edward left his music on. I mean he was pretty spacey this afternoon.

"I wonder," I said to myself.

Before going to turn off my silly fiancée's music I grabbed my memory stick out of Alice's laptop that was sitting carelessly on the couch. I tucked it safely in my back pocket. Then, I bounded up the stairs and started making my way to Edward's room.

I started slowing my pace as I got closer to his room. I quietly pushed the door open.

My heart stopped. I couldn't breathe. How could they do this to me? The love of my life, and my Best friend?!

Alice was standing up, while Edward was sitting down, kissing in a way Edward had told me was impossible for me, if I was going to stay alive. I wanted to say something, but I'd lost my voice. They were apparently too busy to even notice I was there. 'I love you.' I mouthed one last time.

I turned on my heel, tears falling silently down my cheeks, I walked down the stairs. I could just feel my world collapsing in around me. I got to my truck and slammed my head onto the steering wheel. Everything was in a daze. I watched as a love bug crawled across the hood of my truck. I had no idea how long the damn bug took.

I didn't know how long it had been or what had brought me out of my stupor all I knew was I was heartbroken.

"Bella," I heard Jasper's urgent voice, smooth as velvet, in my ear. "What's wrong?" I felt his hand placed softly on my lower back. I'd never noticed how concerned Jasper said when someone was in distress. He really had started growing on me. I hoped his still heart wouldn't fall to pieces, as mine did. He didn't deserve that.

All I could manage to choke out was, "Edward," my voice was but a whisper, "Alice." I couldn't wipe the confusion off my face as I tried to catch my breath. Emmett stayed by me, as everyone else went inside, lead by Jasper, to see what I meant.

"What's wrong?" Emmett had his arm around my shoulder, rubbing soothing circles right above my elbow. He truly was the big brother I never had.

"Edward and Alice," I coughed. I was going to continue to attempt to tell Emmett what had been bothering me, but I was interrupted…

There was an explosion of growls some I recognized to be Edward's and some I didn't recognize at all. I heard a window shatter. I squeezed my eyes shut.

Emmett pulled my head to his shoulder. "Shhhhh," he patted my hair, "Don't worry, we'll take care of them." He didn't understand. I wasn't worried about their safety like usual, I was hurt.

"He wouldn't dare?" Emmett challenged, suddenly very defensive "Oh, Bella," Emmett suddenly pulled me into a brotherly embrace. "I'll kill him." He whispered, before kissing the top of my head and pulling me out of my truck.

"I want to stay in the truck," I complained, trying to crawl back into my truck, but soon giving up knowing I was no match for Emmett.

"Stay away from me, Edward." I heard Jasper scream.

Suddenly, in the blink of an eye, I was in Jasper's arms.

"Close your eyes," He reminded me, in a small voice. And we were running.

It seemed as if Jasper had taken two steps and when I opened my eyes Jasper was strapping me into Emmett's Jeep. He touched my cheek softly then ran around to the driver's side. I had enough time to blink again and we were speeding one hundred and eight down the Cullens' Driveway.

"Where are we going?" I asked breathlessly.

"Getting out of here. Unless of course, you'd like to go back. I figured we'd go to one of our other houses, if that's ok with you." Jasper said, looking at me.

"Oh, it's fine with me. Anywhere but here."

_(A/N) I hope you thoroughly enjoyed your first little taste of this! If you recognized it, it was originally posted under my old penname . I lost all that information so I had to make a new account. Read and Review, guys! _

_All my love possible,_

_Cynthia._


	2. Violent Delights Have Violent Ends

**EPOV**

I knew I was in desperate need of a hunt. I thought back to when I had her pinned on the couch, right before she threw herself into the most passionate kiss I ever imagined to have with her before she gets changed. I thought about how I'd almost lost control. I felt the thirst burn the back of my throat as I thought of her scent.

As I let her kiss me for a moment, I felt her stop breathing. It took me a moment to refocus. I just knew I was about to do something I would regret until the day I died, which probably wouldn't come long after her death.

I pulled into our make-shift garage.

_'Edward, you need to leave for the hunt. You need to leave soon. I can just feel the thirst radiating off of you. I'd be surprised if everyone else couldn't feel it as well.'_ I heard Jasper's thoughts. Caring as they were I couldn't help but be annoyed.

"I want to go back and apologize to Bella. I was acting very rudely this afternoon and I need to make it up to her." I explained in a whisper that I knew he, along with the rest of the family, could hear.

_'No, Edward, I'm leaving right now. Come with me. Emmett isn't leaving for another hour or two. You need this hunt, Edward. We've devoted too much effort into protecting Bella for you to blow it now when you KNOW you need to hunt. It isn't even catching you by surprise.' _He didn't understand. He could do to Alice what I could never do to Bella. I couldn't help but be overly annoyed. I didn't care how concerned he was. Bella was my concern, not his. If I was going to drink Alice's blood, maybe I'd understand. Maybe. But, as Alice didn't have any blood in her veins, I wasn't sure why he was acting this way.

_'I don't mean to annoy you, Edward, but I've grown to love Bella, and it's our job to keep her safe, even if that means from you. And if you go to back through her window tonight, I can almost promise you that Bella wouldn't wake up in the morning.'_ Jasper's thoughts were screaming at me. The truth behind the words hurt.

"Ok fine, Jasper, if you're so worried about her then I won't go back. But I am not leaving just yet. I want to get some things in order first. Don't worry I'll be in the Mountains in two hours, and if I'm not then feel free to come here and check up on things." I reasoned in my mind, it wouldn't hurt to have someone checking up on me every once in a while.

_'Fine,'_ He thought,_' I will be back in two hours if you aren't in the mountains. I know I can't really empathize with what you have to sacrifice to be with you, but I do know that I won't be able to face you if you do something terrible that you'll regret and I do nothing to stop you. I'm sorry.'_

"I know, Jasper," As much as I didn't want to admit it, he made a valid point. I was thankful for that, "Thank you."

I was glad he stopped at that. I had some major thinking to do. As I walked into the house I could feel all of my family's eyes burning holes into the back of my shirt. I ignored their thoughts and went straight up to my room.

I opened up a small notebook and took an old pen out of my school bag, and began to write a note.

Bella,

I know there's no excuse for everything I put you through day after day. I've taken you so deep into story books, and I know you've no way back to normality. Though, I'd never ask you to leave our life together for something as dull and plain as life before we found each other. I've promised so many times not to allow myself to get so uncomfortable before I go away again and, of course, I'm embarrassed to admit, that I've risked entirely too much waiting for so long this time. I know you don't see things as I do, but one day you will. I'll make sure of that myself. It's a rotten excuse for risking your life time and time again, as I do, but I do truly love you. It's the strongest feeling I've ever felt. I'll be back before you can blink an eye. I promise.

All my love, Edward.

I sat down on the black leather couch, and put my elbows on my knees and my head in my hands. What had I done? How could I have been so stupid? I made a vow to myself and to Bella that I was going to never let myself get so thirsty ever again. I looked down at my watch; I had about half an hour until Jasper came back. How did time always just slip by like that with me? I guess it had something to do with the fact that I had an entire century behind me.

Just about the time I actually let my mind wander I heard my door being pushed open.

"Knock, knock," I heard the soprano voice of my favorite sister, smiling as she danced into my room.

"If I hadn't heard you coming I might have been a little scared." I teased her.

"I wasn't looking to scare you; I wanted to know what the problem is, you've had me nervous all day. I saw you in her house, but I could tell you were losing control." I didn't answer, "Jasper is right, you know. About you needing to go on the hunt, you could've killed her, you know?"

"Yes, I know, Alice!" I snapped.

_'I knew I wouldn't be able to help him any. He never opens up to me anyway.'_ She thought.

"Now, you know that's not true. I just get so frustrated that if I kissed her like I want to be able to kiss her, then I'd kill her." I surprised myself in being able to sum all of what I was feeling into one sentence.

"I knew that would make you tell me," Alice giggled, "now, would you be so kind as to enlighten me on how I can help you?"

Suddenly, I got the most insane idea. I looked at Alice, and smiled. "Alice, teach me how to put as much passion into the kiss when I kiss Bella, without actually being dangerous."

Alice looked a little unsure about the idea. I took a good look into her mind and she seemed to be thinking of Jasper and how he would feel about it. Then in her head, she pictured it and how she would teach me.

"Oh, thank you, Alice! I'll owe you one until the day I die!" I was so excited that I lifted her up into a brotherly embrace and spun her around in the air! I sat her down and took a seat on my couch, and let her begin teaching me.

I let her begin. She started like any normal kiss would have. I quickly threw myself into the kiss, exerting more passion then I ever would be able to with Bella until she was changed. We kept kissing like this for a moment. Then I quickly pulled away, "Did you hear that?" I asked cautiously. She shook her head. "Ok, I thought for a minute that I heard the door open."

And just as quickly as I'd pulled away, we were kissing again. Her lips were moving slowly, but urgently against mine. The way she kissed, did display a lot of affection. I was worried this might turn into something I didn't want to. I kept kissing her though. I wanted to be my best for Bella.

Suddenly, out of now where, I _did_ hear the door open. I pulled away from Alice, only to see half-crouched Jasper with his lips pulled back over his teeth. At vampire speed, Jasper flew at me slamming me into my China cabinet, shattering it. I growled at him, and he growled back. I was so into keeping Alice safe, that I didn't have time to grab Jasper before he shot out of the room to the front of the house. I had enough time to register how strange it was to feel protective of Alice. It had to be an after effect of the kiss, that was all.

I heard Emmett speaking to Jasper quickly, "Here, get Bella, take my Jeep and go to California or one of the other houses, just get out of here. I'll call Charlie. Take Bella home and let her pack. She's already supposed to be with us for the rest of the week. I'll tell Charlie we're just leaving a day early. It wouldn't hurt for the two of you to get away. Make sure you keep in touch. If you don't call by seven, then I'm running all the way to each house we've ever owned until I find you."

I ran faster than I've ever run before, to get outside and see why they mentioned Bella. Alice followed, eyes wide with shock.

We got out just in time to see Bella and Jasper driving down the driveway and in time to hear Bella say, "… Anywhere but here." Her voice broke on the last word, just like my heart.

I couldn't believe it. Just this afternoon I was promising her I could never hurt her. And here I go again, hurting her with everything I do. I was trying to make things better for us, but it turned out horribly wrong.

"What have I done?" I dropped to my knees. Alice leaned over me and kissed the top of my head. I looked up at her. Her expression was unfathomable; it tore me in two. Though the hurt was clear on her face, all I noticed was the love in her eyes. She wanted to make things better for me.

"Do you see this getting better?" I whispered, so low that I was surprised her vampire hearing even picked it up.

"It's too soon to tell, they haven't decided yet." She looked at me for a moment and then crumbled into my arms. "Oh, Edward, how could they not see?"

"I don't know, Alice, I just don't know." I said, squeezing my eyes shut.

I kept my eyes closed as I took a quick look into her mind. She was thinking about our "lesson" but not in the way I had guessed she would. Had she… _enjoyed_ it?


	3. She Actually Believed It Was Real

**BPOV**

"What are we doing here?" I asked.

"Well, if you'd like, you can stay here. But Emmett thought since Charlie already knew you were spending the week with us, you may want to get away for the week. Of course, if you'd like to explain to Charlie what we found…" His voice got dark, "I would be more than happy to go in and put my two cents into that conversation."

"No, I'll go with you. Let me run in and explain that we're leaving early. I'll need to get a bag together. What all will I need?" I asked.

"Just a week's worth of clothes and your bathroom necessities, and whatever else you'll need to not have to come back to Forks until next Sunday. And, why don't you let me come in with you? I think I could help the situation. Keep him calm. He may not be comfortable with you leaving with a member of the family he isn't as close with." Jasper said.

I had to admit, it made sense. The idea seemed strange. Spending the week with the Cullen I'd been around very least. Then again, the two I was most comfortable around turned out to be something I hadn't expected.

"Shall we?" Jasper asked, politely.

We got out of the truck and walked to the porch. I hesitated at the door.

"Jasper, Charlie's never met you. What are we going to say?"

"Just follow my lead." He smiled. I'd never really noticed the southern twang in his voice. I'd never been farther south than Phoenix. I'd never been around anyone who sounded country like that. I really liked it and suddenly I was excited that he was going to be speaking to my dad soon, I just wanted him to talk more.

"Bella, is that you?" Charlie asked

"Yeah, Dad, I'm back." I said.

Charlie raised one eyebrow when he saw Jasper, surely expecting Edward.

I suddenly felt very serene and trusted Jasper. Jasper held his hand out to my dad. He looked at me quickly and grinned. "Jasper Hale, sir."

"Charlie Swan, Chief of Police." Charlie puffed his chest out as if he was trying to impress Jasper. "What do I owe this honor?"

"My family is leaving a day early, if it's all the same to you. We just decided we'd make better time and be able to enjoy ourselves for a little longer. Of course, if you've made plans with Bella already Carlisle wouldn't mind keeping the trip as scheduled…" Jasper trailed off.

"Oh, no. That's fine. Is that what you wanna do Bella? You don't wanna stay home and work on the essay or whatever it was you were doing for school?" Charlie asked.

"All my research is on my laptop and in my memory stick. I can work on it while we're away. It is okay if I leave early, right?" After I'd run off to Italy, I'd resorted to asking permission before I left anywhere for any period of time. I'd recently settled on stating that whatever silly request I had was okay followed by 'okay' or 'right' so he knew I still had some authority in the decisions I made.

"Sure, it is. I already agree to it. Jasper, right? Tell your Mom and Dad I said hey."

"Aunt and Uncle, actually, Charlie. My twin sister, Rosalie, and I weren't actually adopted. They've just taken us in. Our parents weren't what you'd call capable." He smiled, sheepishly.

"Oh, I thought you all were adopted. Hmm, learn something new every day. Anyway, you better get ready, if they want to leave, Bells." Then he turned to Jasper, "You may have to wait until next week to go on vacation if you're waiting on _my_ daughter to pack."

I blushed deep red and turned away. Secretly, I was very satisfied that my dad seemed to thoroughly enjoy Jasper's company. I know I was starting to.

I kept my eyes closed tightly as I fought against the bounce of Emmett's jeep. I opened my eyes, against my better judgment, and we were deep in the woods driving along two ruts, that created a make-shift path. I could tell this path was almost never used, because the grass in between the ruts had to be taller than I was.

I looked at Jasper. My heart skipped a beat. He looked at me. _'Aw, crap,'_ I thought to myself, _'stupid, amazing, vampire hearing,'_ and then it occurred to me,_ 'If I'm feeling what I think I'm feeling, then that means… AW, CRAP! Stupid, fancy, vampire special powers.' _I couldn't help but feeling a little annoyed with myself.

Finally, Jasper pulled up in front of a beautiful mansion.

"Jasper, where _are _we?" I asked, awed.

"This," He gestured to the house as he appeared at my window and opened my door, "is one of our many homes." He smiled as I tried to hop out of the jeep. He grabbed my waist and helped me onto the ground. "Let's go inside, you'll love it in here." He smiled a smile more breathe-taking than Ed- then I had ever seen. I smiled back. My heart jumped again. What the heck was that? Did I _like_ Jasper?! Oh, goodness. This could be interesting.

I saw Jasper look at me and smile. I knew he had just felt what I had. _'Ugh! Stupid empathic vampire'_ I scowled at myself.

He placed a light leading arm on my lower back. I smiled to myself. How could I be falling for Jasper? He was the reason Edward left me a little over a year ago. But being around him was so comfortable, it just felt _right. _But maybe that was just my minds way of turning away from the pain I was sure to feel as soon as I had a moment to breathe.

We walked into the giant mansion. It was the same general layout as the other Cullen house, it had the same pale on pale color scheme, only with the whole west _and_ east wall were all window. It was simply beautiful. There was a huge stone fireplace with a built in place to sit. I took a seat and allowed my eyes to wander to Jasper, who happened to be staring at me. I got caught up in his gaze and he held me there. I smiled, then, feeling the blood rush quickly to my cheeks, looked away.

My heart was racing, for no reason. Jasper could never return this silly feeling I was having. There was no way. He brushed his fingers across my cheek.

"You know why I came back?" Jasper asked, suddenly.

"No, but I'm glad you did. If you hadn't come back then I don't know how long I would have just sat there. I always knew me and him where just too… unbalanced. He did too much for the relationship. I knew it wouldn't last when he came back. I guess somewhere deep down I knew it was just a matter of time." I mumbled, not exactly knowing where I wanted the conversation to end up.

"I could just feel the thirst rolling off of Edward, and I was trying to convince him to leave early for the hunt because I could feel he_ needed_ it. I told him to leave, but he wouldn't. So, I told him I would come back to the house in two hours if he wasn't in the mountains to check on him… and make sure you weren't dead. I mean I've put too much effort into not killing you for him to cave," I winced, "Sorry for the expression. But, anyway, I just have grown to…well… love you, Bella." My heart skipped a beat. I felt the blood rush to my face. He smiled. I forgot to breath. "Breath…" He whispered. "…we need to call Carlisle and Esme, so they don't worry. And if we don't call soon, I figure Emmett will bust down the door pretty soon."

So I grabbed the phone out of his backpack, which he still had from his "camping trip" and tossed it at him. I watched as he dialed the numbers, his fingers a blur.

"Emmett," He said, "we're good. No, I took her to San Diego. That's Rose's favorite. You should come out soon. To visit. Tomorrow? Yeah, that would be great. See you th-," he was interrupted. "Yeah, I'd love to talk to Rose. Hey, Rose. No, that won't be necessary. Okay, I will," He switched the phone to speaker, laughing quietly to himself.

"Bella, can you hear me?" I heard Rosalie's Soprano voice, addressing me for the first time since the night she told me the story of how she was changed.

A shocked expression took over my face. Jasper chuckled. "Yeah, I can hear you." I answered attempting to keep my voice even.

"Now, Bella, if you want me to burn all of Alice's clothes and butcher all of her shoes, just say the word and it's done." I could hear a smile in her voice. But I could also hear the anger in her voice. I guess Rosalie really had grown to like me. Wow.

"I don't think you need to do that, Rose. But thanks for the offer."

"Are you sure? I'd be glad to." She giggled evilly. "Oh, fine! Bella, Emmett would like to talk to you."

"Okay, I'd love to talk to him… uhm, thanks again Rose, love you." I sighed awkwardly.

"Love you too, Bells." She giggled and handed to phone to Emmett.

"Bella?" he asked urgently.

"Yes?" He seemed to be worried about me. He's most definitely the best big brother a girl could ask for. I smiled at the thought.

"I'll kill him, ok? I'm going to kill him." He really was worked up over this.

"No need. I'm feeling better already." I looked at Jasper, and blushed.

"Are you sure? Like, entirely and completely sure you don't want me to rough him up a bit?" He sounded reluctant, "Esme says she loves you, Bella… and Carlisle too. Oh, and we won't tell Alice and Edward where you are. Promise."

"Yes, I'm entirely sure. Let's just let them think about what they've done." I smiled at my caring teddy bear's attempt to be sentimental.

"Uhhhh, I… love you, Bella." It sounded more like a question, like he'd never said the L word to anyone besides Rosalie in all of his very long life. I could hear his struggle to make me feel okay.

I giggled, "I love you too, Emmett. And tell Esme, Carlisle, and Rose that I love them too. Good night."

"Sweet dreams, Bells."

I shut the phone. "Jasper, you don't happen to have an actual bathroom that I can use, I need to get ready for bed. It's getting late."

He smirked, "Sure, Bella, up the stairs first door on the left. When you get done, come back down here and I'll show you the room you can sleep in."

I jogged up the stairs. The bathroom was the most beautiful room in the whole house. The shower curtain was red while the bathtub was white that sparkled when the light hit it, along with the toilet and sink. It was a little funny, the resemblance between the Cullens and their bathroom. I laughed to myself. There were gray and red hand towels on a rack behind the toilet. The lighting seemed dramatic. It was dim. Almost like candle light.

As soon as I had taken my shower I ran down stairs. I was eager. And to think, out of all three Cullen boys… Jasper. But Jasper wasn't technically a Cullen. He was a Hale.

I took the stairs two at a time, excited to see what new curve ball the day had to throw at me.

"Hey, there." His voice just… did something to me. "A bit… eager, are we?" He asked, with a grin.

I blushed, "Which, uhm, room should I sleep in?"

Jasper was at my side before I could blink, leading hand on the small of my back. He led me through the hallway that passed under the staircase. The hall dead ended at a set of Red Oak double doors. He opened the door to a room painted in a textured Navy color. A Beige curtain the size of a Grand Drape covered the back wall. The walls that weren't covered by the curtain were entirely made out of book shelves. The book shelves were empty, but I knew that they used to be filled with all of his favorite books. It was his room. I sighed.

"How long ago did you live here?" I asked him.

"Right before we moved to Forks."

"But I thought you lived in Denali right before you came to Forks?"

"Just because that's what we allowed everyone to believe, doesn't necessarily make it true." He winked, "It's easy to fake a high school transcript, I know a man who runs an underground business doing that type of thing."

"It's amazing here."

"Get some sleep, Beautiful." He brushed my hair out of my eyes, turned on his heel and he was gone.

His room was peaceful. It made me feel like I wanted to sleep. But even if I tried I knew I wouldn't be able to. This would be the first night in almost a year to fall asleep without a vampire's arms around me.

I gave it about an hour then decided I wasn't getting to sleep anytime soon, so I went down stairs to find Jasper. He was sitting on the window sill watching the rain storm brew outside.

"You know, rain is my favorite kind of weather." Jasper said without looking at me

"Why is that?" I asked, taking a seat on the floor by his knees.

"It just seems to heal all kinds of pain. It just washes it away. It's almost as if the pain were a trail leading from where you were to where you've ended up. The rain washes all the scent away. If you stay in your happy place for long enough, you might even forget the reason you ended up there in the first place." He spoke matter-of-factly, having given this much thought.

"That reminds me of a poem," I smiled.

"Do I know it?" He asked, wondering.

"It isn't published anywhere," I shrugged, "He's not really famous or anything. He's a friend of mine. He travels and performs and everything. But he isn't well known, by any means." I smiled, remembering the poem.

"How does it go?" He'd started playing with my hair, absentmindedly.

"I'm not as good at reciting poetry as Levi is, but I'll give it a go." I took a deep breath and closed my eyes, trying to focus on Jasper's hands in my hair. I didn't feel nervous. "_'Jesus, the last time I saw you cry was Tuesday of last week and I wasn't sure why, but the sky just kind of opened up and I sat there beneath it in a puddle of mud next to the memory of my favorite swing set as a kid and wondered if it was my fault that you were sad that day and I wondered what I did. But the other day I met a girl who talked about love like she actually believed it was real and this child and I shared brief conversation about a few things we thought we could feel. I said, 'I don't mean to shatter your naiveté, darling, but you've so much yet to see.' She shook her head and smiled, as if I was the one that was the child. She said, 'Mister, open up your eyes and I'm gonna show you the world.'" _I opened my eyes and looked at him, with a smile.

"That was beautiful. I didn't know you were religious." He said.

"I'm not, but I do believe in the Christian God. I just don't practice any form of religion. I do love the fact that there is something bigger out there that watches over us and protects us. That I believe in. And above everything else I believe in, I _fervently_ believe in Heaven."

"You're right," He smiled at me, "Why are you up anyway, shouldn't you be in bed?"

"I can't sleep," I told him.

"I'm sorry, is there anything I can do?" He asked,

"I don't know. It's just that I haven't slept in over a year without Edward, or Alice one." I admitted; a silent tear slipped down my cheek.

Jasper stood up and walked over to me. He put his hand on my face and wiped the fallen tear off my cheek, "Would you like me to lay up there with you until you fall asleep?" It was like he read my thoughts.

"Jasper, would you?!" I asked, almost jumping for joy.

"Anything, for you, Bella." He smiled and followed me to his room.

I was almost positive that he didn't return the feeling I had. I was sure he was just being friendly, and he felt the same pain about Alice as I did about Edward. I was feeling very unsure about what his feelings were towards me. Then again, every little sweet gesture and every time he smiled at me, every time he said something genuine and when he played with my hair… it all seemed too good to be true.

He opened the door for me and walked up on the opposite side of the bed as me. I crawled onto the bed and turned my head to see Jasper winding his arms around me. I instinctively curled into his chest.

"Uhm, Bella, may I ask you something?" Jasper asked.

"Sure," I said, trying to keep my voice even.

"What are you so unsure about?" He asked me

I attempted to change the subject, "Uhm, do you miss her?"

"I'm not sure yet. Yes, it's hard being without her, but I'm not sure how deeply I feel about her not being here with me. Do you miss him?"

"I miss who I _thought_ he was." I answered, truthfully.

"I understand. Now, answer my question. What are you so unsure about?" I hadn't fooled him, he still wanted to know.

"Well, I was just a little unsure of how you feel towards me." I said, my voice shaking.

"Bella, I care about you. A lot. If I didn't care about you not getting hurt I wouldn't have came back from the hunt to check on Edward, and I wouldn't have taken you away from there if I didn't care. I wouldn't have put so much time into gaining control. And not killing you."

"But wasn't all that just caring about me in a brotherly way?"

"Some of it was, but not so much anymore. But Edward is right, it is… _different…_ caring for a human. In this way, that is."

"So you do _like_ me?" I asked, feeling weird. It had been so long since I had said I _liked_ someone. I was used to saying I loved them.

"Yes, Bella, I _like_ you." He chuckled. "Sleep well, sweetie."

I felt him kiss my forehead, I smiled, and drifted to sleep.


	4. The Fire

_(A/N) How is it so far? I hope you all love it! I haven't been checking the format before posting chapters, so I've noticed a few errors. However, now that I know the site a little better, maybe everything will be better! I know I've said before that I want to keep this story JxB... But there's just something irrestistable about Edward and Bella. I'm going to try to keep her with Jasper, but if my mind works some aspect of a story out before my fingers can type it, I usually stick with my vision of how the "happy ending" would work out best. _

_On to the chapter!_

**BPOV**

Jasper and I were sitting on the couch. His eyes pitch black, with thirst. A thunder storm brewed outside. No rain yet, just thunder and lightning. I was scared. The wind was fierce and I could just imagine trees getting blown down on top of the house.

"Jasper, the weather is getting kind of rough. I'm scared." I whined.

"Humph. Scared of the storm?" He laughed, darkly. "Oh, that's the least of your worries right now. Have you looked at my eyes, lately? I'd be scared of _me_, if I were you." And with that he leaped at me.

I screamed. Jasper and I didn't interact like this, especially when he was thirsty. Even Edward, who was all but immune to the scent of my blood didn't act like this, even when he wasn't thirsty. He had one hand clamped, uncomfortably firm, on the back of my neck. He held me there, kissed my lips softly, and then his lips were at my ear, "I love you, you know? That's why I'm doing this. I _really_ _hope_ I don't kill you. I'll see you in three days." And he sunk his teeth into my neck.

The fire coursed through me, starting at my neck, where he'd bitten me. This fire made the memory of the time James bit my wrist disappear. I couldn't help scream and slip into a semi-unconsciousness. Though the unconsciousness didn't take the pain or screaming away, it was a bit of a relief. It was more like, nothingness.

**JPOV **

"No! Jasper, I'm not ready!"

"Bella! Wake up!" I ran to her bursting through the wall of fire that was quickly engulfing the doorway. I cradled her securely in my arms, slung her bag over my shoulder and kicked a whole in the glass behind the curtain. She was kicking like a mad person. I didn't get it. I could feel true fear just rolling off of her. She was terrified, yet she was still sleeping. All I cared about was getting her out of danger. I ran as fast as I could, the three blocks it was to the nearest hospital.

I carried Bella, still cradled in my arms. I ran, at a human speed, into the hospital. It was slow in the ER so it was easy to ignore all of the emotions. I ran, Bella still restless in my arms, to the front desk.

"Jasper Hale, is that you?" The same lady who'd worked there since I could remember behind the front desk, flirted.

"Yes, ma'am. But, before we catch up on anything, I need to call 911. Bella and I," I picked Bella's head a little as a gesture to show her who Bella was, "were visiting, and lightning struck our house, it's burning down as we speak, we need the fire station." Before I could even finish, she was on the phone with the fire station giving them the address to our old house. "Thank you." I added.

"Now, what exactly is wrong with Mrs. Hale?" she asked, quickly standing and taking Bella's pulse while watching the second hand of her watch tick slowly.

"Miss Swan," I corrected, "Bella Swan, and nothing is the matter with her, she is just a heavy sleeper, and wouldn't wake up. She hasn't woken si—" I was interrupted by Bella's piercing scream.

I sat down in a chair, Bella in my lap, and attempted to wake her up. "Bella, wake up," I kissed her forehead. She was so warm. It was wonderful to feel. I really did think I loved her.

"Jasper?" she mumbled.

"Yes, Love." I could feel the whole ER, feeling the same things, as they were listening in our conversation.

"Oh, Jasper," She crumpled in my arms. "I was scared and you bit me and I was changing and I felt the fire, it was so real." She sobbed.

"Bella, we are probably going to have to go home early, the house burned down. That's what triggered your nightmare, most likely."

"That's a relief," she giggled. Her laugh was the most beautiful sound I had ever heard.

"You know, we could always go to another house." I smiled, genuinely for the first time in days.

"Could we, please? Let's do it." She smil

"The worse things get, the more I get to be around you. Some paradox, isn't it?" I smiled at her, she stopped breathing, "Breath," I whispered, kissing the top of her head. By the time, I had set my head down on top of hers, someone burst through the door of the ER.

"Bella?" His voice was frantic.

"Get out of here, Edward. She's not ready to talk yet. When we are," I laughed on the inside as he hurt when I said we, I half stepped in front of Bella, protectively. I took her hand. "we will gladly find you, and talk things over. Good-bye." I took Bella and we walked out of the Employee's only exit. I slipped a fifty to the lady behind the desk to not let Edward follow us.

Bella looked behind her at him. I felt what felt like a sword stab through my heart. I couldn't tell if she was feeling that way, or if I was at her reaction to seeing him.

Pain shot through him as Bella caught his eye, sighed, then took my hand and matched my stride. I smiled.

"Serves him right." I chuckled darkly.

Maybe I wasn't over Alice, after all.

When we got back to what was left of the house, I grabbed Bella's bag from beside a big Willow tree where I dropped it earlier. She yawned. I put my arm around her waist to help support a little of her weight. She leaned her head against my chest. I leaned down and kissed the top of her head.

"Mr. Hale? There isn't much along the lines of things we could salvage. Were there any valuables in the house? I know you said you were only visiting." The final policeman asked me.

"No, sir, we only keep the house for times like these when we want to get away for the weekend. It's a shame it burned down, but I'm sure the insurance company will be of help. And thank you for all of your help. I know I speak for my entire family, Carlisle included, when I say that." I said.

"Oh, yes. This is what we do. We live to help people when we can." The policemen held his hand out to shake mine. I took his hand, loosely and nodded my head.

When we were out of sight of everyone, I scooped Bella up in my arms.

"Where are we going to go now?" She asked me, groggily.

"That is completely up to you." I'd been to all of our places and I had a good idea which one she would like… "What do you think about the city that never sleeps?"

Her eyebrows pulled together in confusion. I grinned at her expression. "The Big Apple?" I tried again.

"No, I know where you mean. But what are you going to do in New York City for 7 days?" It took me by surprise that she was thinking of me before herself. Was it really just 4 hours ago that I was thinking she was going to run into Edward's arms right before my eyes. Though, I wasn't sure if I didn't want that. I still couldn't tell if I wanted Alice back or if I'd be happy forever with Bella.

"New York City is prettier at night." I shrugged, then smiled at her.

"Simple enough." She said and yawned again.

We were at the car and I helped her into the seat and strapped her in. I walked around the car slowly, taking in the tenor or her feels. Slight adoration, slight awe. I smiled to myself. "Sleep now, sweet Bella. I'll wake you up in a few hours so you can get out and stretch your legs."

She smiled, and closed her eyes.


	5. Ignorance is Bliss

_(A/N) Okay! I'm sorry it took so long! My internet got cut off. So I've been searching high and low for a place with free wifi and ALAS! I've found my safe haven! haha! I know I was gone entirely too long, so I'm going to make it up to you by posting two chapters today! _

_All my love,_

_Cynthia!_

**APOV**

OH MY GOD. What was THAT? Do I love Edward? No! He is my brother. BROTHER! How could I hurt Jasper like that? He is the love of my existence…But I kissed Edward and I just…I don't know. And nobody will tell me where Bella and Jasper are. How am I going to do this? They didn't give us time to explain! Honestly, Edward was so depressed! He just wanted to learn how to show Bella how much he cares for her without breaking her. Can they honestly blame him? If this doesn't straighten out, he won't ever be the same. I have to fix this, but how? Carlisle, that's what I'd do, talk to him.

"CARLISLE!" I screamed at the top of my lungs, even though I knew he could hear me if I had whispered it. "Please, listen to me," I pleaded.

"Alice, you know I will listen to you anytime you need me, as will Esme. I don't know what happened, but from what I've heard it was nothing good. Truly, I even heard Rosalie threaten to burn your wardrobe, so it must be something terrible," He seemed a bit concerned, "but, I'm willing to give you the benefit of the doubt."

"Well, Carlisle, it's going to sound terrible unless you are able to see inside mine and Edward's heads. Edward was in shambles because, for one, he was thirsty, and two, he was so wrapped up in Bella, that he was scared to death, and you have to admit, for a vampire that's pretty difficult." I said all in one breath.

"Alice, take a breather, an unnecessary one nonetheless, but slow down." Carlisle sighed, wishing Jasper was here to calm me down, I suppose.

"Oh, sorry," I giggled slightly, it sounded a bit hysterical to me, maybe I was paranoid, "well, he was so scared he would hurt her in some way, and he couldn't bear the thought of that so he came to me for help. He only asked me if I could somehow teach him how to kiss her without breaking her. And then… BAM… a vision hit me! I saw Jasper and Bella getting together. And that is what made my mind up." I finished.

"Well, I do understand how Edward feels. I feel that way around Esme every day only I don't have to worry about…breaking her. It seems that you and I should approach your siblings and at least try to get this through to them. Perhaps Edward should come with us. Yes, I think that's best. Now getting through to Jasper and Bella will be more…difficult…although I understand that Edward tracked Bella's scent to the California mansion, but he was unable to get through to them, like I said, so he came back." Carlisle spoke matter-of-factly.

"Hmm, I can see that this will be difficult" I mumbled under my breath.

"Of course that was anticipated, Alice; Ok well I think once I consult Esme we might be able to slowly tackle the siblings…hypothetically of course. Goodness, I really hope Rose won't unleash her…dark side…" he shuddered

"Carlisle, I am forever indebted to you. You've always been the caring one and I appreciate it." I thanked him.

I ran up the stairs quickly to find Edward, who was laying on his bed throwing a baseball up and down in the air playing a CD with Bella's lullaby on repeat.

"EDWARD!" I exclaimed, "Carlisle's decided to help us explain the situation to Jasper and Bella.

Edward looked glum.

"It won't work, Alice. I've already tried. I even took them by surprise. It just didn't work." He sighed.

"But Carlisle will help us! They'll listen to Carlisle."

**EDWARD POV**

Just as soon as I heard the words come out of her mouth, she was sucked into a vision, and I was stuck watching on the sidelines. We were in a supermarket about to go down the cereal aisle. Jasper was not thirsty. A woman is pushed into a shelf and a jar breaks and cuts into her shoulder. Blood is dripping everywhere. Jasper's eyes turn black...End of vision.

"Alice? Alice!" I cried urgently, "we've got to find them!"

We, being Alice and I, who somehow managed to wrangle Emmett and Rosalie since they would get to see Bella and Jasper at the New York house, ran at lightning speed to my car, dragging Carlisle along with us who dragged along Esme. We all hopped into my Volvo and sped off. Now that was a lot of vampires for one Volvo. The conversation however, was unimportant to me; I only spoke when I was spoken to.

"Carlisle, where are they?" I asked

"I don't know, but if you all are really quiet, I can get on the phone with them." Carlisle muttered.

I was never so quiet in my life. I even stopped breathing.

I listened carefully to both sides of the conversation.

_I can't truly lie to them, Edward. You'll have to make do with what I have to say_. Carlisle thought.

I glumly accepted.

"Jasper? Yes, how would it be if the family comes out to visit you today?" Carlisle asked.

"That'd be fine. Bella and I are just going to the supermarket to get some food. Human food," he added, chuckling.

"You know I mean the _whole_ family, right?" Carlisle asked.

Great. Now Jasper's onto the plan and I won't see Bella till I'm 500.

"Yes! That'd be great!" Jasper replied in a chipper tone.

_Wow_. Carlisle thought.

Okay, maybe I'll see her in a few hours then…

I watched the speedometer fly to the right and drove faster than I've ever dared in my Volvo. I had poor Esme scared half to death, though she's a vampire and there's nothing for her to be afraid of.

We got to the apartment in Syracuse where they relocated after the fire that destroyed the mansion in California. I stepped out of the Volvo and anxiously tip toed to the front door. I slipped the key slowly into the lock, the anticipation killing me (no pun intended), and turned the door knob slowly.

When I walked in the front room my eyes nearly fell out of my head. I saw Bella, eyes closed, and Jasper holding hands, noses touching, ready to kiss. A sharp intake of breath from Alice who came to stand beside me, startled Jasper and he turned his head away from Bella, but she, not realizing there was something wrong kept the kiss in motion but ended up kissing Jasper's cheek.

When she realized then that something was different, she turned her eyes to the landing of the door where the whole family now stood. Jasper, pride just about rolling off of him, turned to face me. His thoughts betrayed no hint of remorse. 'Oh, we have more company than expected.' He smirked as he turned to face Bella, who turned to me and blushed.

"Edward…" she replied, looking very flustered.

"Well, sorry to burst in on your little powwow…" Emmett chatted happily.

"Um, no…we were just headed to the…supermarket, right Jasper?" Bella stuttered nervously.

"Yep. Come on Bella, there's one close by. We'll be back in no time." Jasper added, not a trace of anything but sheer happiness on his voice, and with that, they walked off, Jasper grabbing the keys to Emmett's Jeep on the way out. Just like that, they were gone.

I heard them talking right before they drove off:

"You know, we really shouldn't torture him like this," Bella said, sounded a little bit sorry for her former lover.

"Well, I guess that's true enough. The pain was radiating from his every pore," Jasper replied.

"Yes, well, can we not torture him anymore? This has to be hard enough without layering on the guilt," Bella sighed.

"Ok, love." Jasper said then kissed her…somewhere.

They must've known I was listening, because Jasper was laughing as he drove off.

"I love you, Bella, and always will," I whispered to myself, much too low for anyone besides Alice to hear.


	6. Love and Blood Lust

BPOV

That was the only time in my life I've ever felt uncomfortable around Edward. And I almost felt bad about that. I didn't really know what to think. There was so much emotion coursing through me in such a short period of time, I felt sure Jasper was going to get whiplash.

On one side, Edward looked genuinely hurt and every part of my being since the day I met him has shied away from that. On the other, I felt hurt and I wanted him to hurt as much as I had. I was finally feeling comfortable with Jasper, and I was having trouble convincing myself to try and talk things through with Edward. What if he won me back over? What was Jasper thinking about the whole situation? I wanted to talk everything through with him, but how? Then it hit me, we'd talk it out while we were on our way home from the store. It wouldn't be hard to convince Jasper to take the long way home, would it? Not after all the talks we'd had and the things we've helped each other through.

"Bella, you're making me anxious. I am having a hard time adjusting to your temperament. Tell me what you're trying to decide. Please?" Jasper looked about as confused as I felt.

"I'm trying to decide when to ask you to talk this through with me." I whispered in defeat.

"I was just thinking the same thing. Let's pull over. There's a park about four miles up the road." Jasper sighed. He sounded about as sure of his feelings for me as I felt about my feelings for him.

We rode in silence for the next four miles. When we pulled into the parking lot we stayed silent. I chewed on the inside of my lip, as we walked to a nearby picnic table. I was getting the courage up to say the words that had been flying around in my head like and annoying mosquito since I first felt Jasper's arms carrying me away from the Cullen's house back home. I was lost in thought, again, when Jasper spoke.

"Bella, I've really taken to you this past week. I've truly grown to love you. It isn't anywhere close to what I felt for Alice, or what you felt for Edward. And I would know how you felt for him, as many times as I've been around you when you got lost in his gaze," he ran his fingers along my jaw, "Or saw you blush when he touched you there. However, if we gave it time… I think we may amount to that some day. But, Bella, I want you to know I'd never keep anything from you. Starting with this, when Edward and Alice were in the house earlier, they were truly hurt. I'm not sure what the story is, or why they acting so barbarically, but I think before we make any rash decisions about… us… we should at least hear their side of the story. If Edward truly didn't mean any harm by what happened, how would you feel if Carlisle did change you and you found out in 20 or 30 years? I don't want to take your time with Edward away, if you aren't sure. And I don't want to lose Alice if she is innocent. I love you, Bella. I do. But I don't want us to leave anything to be desired. If we are going to be together, I want to make 100% sure that you aren't going to decide you want Edward and I'm not going to want Alice a few years down the road. I can feel that I've taken you by surprise; I only hope it isn't by any means harshly taken. I'm trying very hard to cover all grounds before entering unknown territory, so to speak." He looked down at the table between us and held his hands out for me to take.

I took a deep breath, placed one hand in his and began, "I don't know how to go back to him, really. I've become so comfortable with you. I've really started healing. I'm scared of this ever happening again. I don't want to have to try to put the pieces of myself back together again. This time, Jasper, I'm just lucky that you were willing to be the glue. I've already ruined Jacob by using him in that way. With you, it's healthier and I can feel that. I don't want to hurt you in the process of trying to help our relationship. I'm rotten at fixing things the easy way." I sighed.

Jasper didn't speak for a long moment. He opened his mouth a few times, but closed it without saying anything. Finally, he put one hand on either side of my face and put his forehead against my forehead. He closed his eyes and inhaled deeply through his nose. He opened his eyes and slowly placed his lips on mine. His kiss was so gentle. Of all the times I'd kissed Edward, this was nothing even close. I couldn't think, I couldn't breathe, and all my being was focused on being everything Jasper needed me to be in that second. I ran my fingers through his hair, down the sides of his face and rested them on his chest. Out of habit, I pulled away. This is the point Edward always said something ridiculous about, "Enough risking your life for one day." I remember that always used to make me happy. He was trying not to kill me. But Jasper just looked at me and smiled. He leaned in to kiss me again. This one was more passionate. It was less careful. I let him kiss me and kissed him back exerting more passion that I thought was possible for a vampire. I was getting lightheaded but I barely cared. Abruptly, the kiss stopped and my face slipped into a pout.

"Breathe," Jasper whispered, "I can kiss you again, if you like. I just thought maybe I should allow you that one human necessity." He smiled at me.

"I'm hungry." I admitted after a long moment.

"Good thing I'm not." He winked. "Grocery store, now; kisses, later?" He amended.

"Sounds perfect." I felt a genuine smile come to my face for the first time since Edward told me he was leaving to hunt.

Jasper got up and walked around the table. He leaned down to kiss my jaw and took my hand and led me to the car. I couldn't help but feel a little embarrassed that Jasper was sure to feel the elation radiating off of me. I was so sure that my mind had been made up. How could I ever not want someone who put me back together? Jasper wasn't like glue, he was like new parts. The old wasn't fixed, it was replaced. I missed that old part of me, but I liked who I was with Jasper more than who I was with Edward. With Edward, I always seemed weak and scared. With Jasper, I'd found a part of myself that was strong and brave. Jasper brought out the best in me. Jasper felt like home. Maybe this was all just a rebound issue, but I couldn't be sure. Damn, Carlisle wasn't kidding when he said vampire's had stronger emotions than humans. I could tell, now. I was so sure that was just an Edward-Bella thing. Oh, how wrong I was. That was a Bella-Jasper thing, too.

I was so lost in thought I hadn't realized we were sitting in the parking lot of the store. Jasper was smiling at me, "I'm sure I could guess why you're so incredibly happy," He grinned, "You're so glad we're here so I can buy you food!" He joked.

"Oh, yes! Absolutely." I laughed.

From outside, the store looked big but once you were inside, you saw how badly the space was managed. Everything was cluttered and kids were running away from their parents bumping past us. There were probably 200 people crowded into the small store. I looked at Jasper, he was holding his breath and closing his eyes every time a little kid squeezed past him or a woman (in awe of his good looks) stopped to ogle.

"Jas, if you need to, please go wait outside, I can handle this." I looked at him.

"I'm not going to leave you in here alone, the way you're making some of these guys feel… I'd have to burst through the wall to get back to you in time if I left you alone for one second." He smiled, weakly. Instead of leaving, he just took my hand. "Don't let go of me." He whispered to low for anyone but me to hear.

"Let's get done as quickly as possible, then?" I suggested.

As we turned the corner, we came very close to bumping into a woman. She looked up at Jasper and jumped back, too quickly. I noticed a moment too late. Everything else happened in one quick moment. A glass jar fell off the top shelf and I heard glass hit the floor. Jasper's hand tightened around mine. I looked up in time to see the woman wince as she pulled a good sized chunk of the jar out of her shoulder. My eyes widened, as I held my breath. The woman pushed past Jasper, clutching her wound, and hurried off to one of the registers.

It was only when I looked into Jasper's wide, black eyes, that I noticed the crimson bloodstain the woman left on his white shirt.


End file.
